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Mobile phone charges being increased

Mobile phone companies are increasing charges for some users, reversing the trend of the last few years that saw them cut prices as they competed fiercely with each other.

Cosmote got the ball rolling when it raised the charges in its Cosmote at Home package by 5 to 7 percent earlier this year. Last month, it made it more expensive for customers using the What’s Up package and its pay-as-you-go card, or Cosmokarta, to make calls and send text messages.

Vodafone has now announced that its Vodafone CU, Vodafone International and pay-as-you go packages will become up to 20 percent dearer. Since the start of this month, the company has also raised the price of its calls not included in customers’ free talk time from 0.99 euros to 1.08 euros per minute.

Along with Wind, Cosmote and Vodafone have also recently made increases of 2 to 3 euros per month to the monthly subscription packages for customers with contracts.

Market sources said the firms have been forced in this direction after seeing their turnover halve in the last few years, partly because the competition between them led to prices being reduced substantially.